Aftermath (Three of Three)

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Ok guys... This is it. The last chapter.
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Ruby woke up, for the hundredth time, to the unrelenting beeping of her new alarm clock. It was in the shape of a heart. Reluctantly, she threw the covers off and pushed herself into the sitting position on her bed and yawned. She stood slowly and carefully and went to have a shower, washing her hair with the same shampoo as she always did, leaving her hair smelling like roses as she wrapped a towel around herself and went to look for clothes. For once, they weren't strewn on the floor but tucked away neatly in her drawer. Ruby grinned. Maybe she could do something about that. Ruby pulled her favourite jeans and another new T-shirt that read: it's not what it looks like, leaving the rest of her clothes covering every inch of her bedroom floor and ran down the stairs, two at a time. Hitch, ever reliable, handed her the regular blend of juice, which Ruby downed before she even made it to the table, then put a steaming pile of pancakes and a beaker of banana milk in front of her. Ruby immediately started to salivate, but she held off on the food. He still wasn't here. Luckily, she didn't have to wait long. There was a knock on the door just moments later. Hitch winked at her,
"You might want to get that kiddo." Ruby walked down the hallway and threw open the door with a large smile on her face,
"Ready to start school Clance?" Clancy rubbed his cold hands and tore off his scarf as he entered the room.
"Sure. It almost comes as a relief." Ruby understood. They had been through so much it would be nice to get back to their old life for a change. Ruby led the shivering Clancy into the warmth of the kitchen and they took their places at the table. Hitch clapped Clancy on the back as he dug into his pancakes.
"First snow for a while huh. Wrap up warm when you go to school." The last sentence was directed at Ruby, and came complete with a stern look. Ruby rolled her eyes,
"For someone who is the new head of Spectrum, you sound an awful lot like my mother." Hitch wagged a finger,
"Do not argue with authority, Redfort. Do that again and I may be forced to demote you."
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Ruby and Clancy demolished breakfast in no time at all, and once all bundled up, ventured out into the winter wonderland which was Ruby's front yard. Shaking the icicles from their bikes, Clancy's a lovely blue and Ruby's an emerald green, they set off quickly, their bikes making tracks in the snow. As they raced down Amster Green, Ruby turned to smile at Clancy. She was so glad that they were finally able to see Red, Del, Mouse and Elliot again, even Bugwart didn't seem that bad. Clancy smiled back, he knew what she was thinking. They reached the top of the hill and looked over the town of Twinford fondly. Ruby thought back to the very same day that this fiasco all began and sighed. So many losses and sacrifices had allowed her to be standing here today, and it made her distinctly uncomfortable. Clancy put his hand on top of hers, his fingers gently rubbing circles on her hand.
"There are some things we can't reverse Ruby, so we've just got to keep going forward and press on." Ruby nodded, a lone tear dropping into the snow.
"I don't want to forget, Clancy."
"You won't." He assured her.
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Clancy gave Ruby's hand a quick final squeeze as they walked towards the school gate before pulling his hand from her grasp and taking a step away from her to the right. They both agreed that they didn't want the others to find out what was between them just yet. As Ruby and Clancy trekked through the snow in their school yard, there was shout from behind them. They turned just in time to see Red Monroe fall into a snowdrift. Clancy shook his head.
"Some things never change." He said with a laugh as they pulled Red out of the snow.
"Ruby! Clancy!" Cried Red in delight, "you're back! What happened?" Ruby and Clancy glanced at each other.
"I got kidnapped..." Began Ruby,
"And I tried to save her..." Continued Clancy,
"But we had a tussle up and in the end Hitch and Dan had to save us." Ruby finished. Red looked taken aback.
"Ummm... Wow." Ruby laughed and clapped Red on the back,
"It's a lot to take in. Where are Del and the others?"
Ruby and Clancy were greeted most enthusiastically by their friends. Del and Mouse almost knocked Ruby over in the force of their hug and Elliot and Clancy performed their long and complicated handshake before giving each other a quick hug. Red explained what happened to Ruby and Clancy and the others looked shocked and immediately pestered Ruby and Clancy for more details.
"Sorry," said Clancy, drawing an imaginary zipper across his mouth. "Police information, top secret." Elliot looked very disappointed, but Clancy was saved of more questioning by the bell.
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Try as she might, that day Miss Drisco could not deal with the sudden return of Ruby and Clancy, not even if she sat them at opposite ends of the classroom. They just tapped out that annoying Morse Code as if there was no one else in the room. At certain random points, Ruby and Clancy laughed out loud at something the other said and pouted and frowned at others. They were impossible to contain, so Miss Drisco just put them at the back again. There they huddled, thick as thieves as usual, for most of the day.
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During lunch hour, Ruby and Clancy's table was surrounded by people who wanted to welcome them back. Even Bugwart and her sidekicks came over to tease them, though rather lightly Ruby thought.
"So Redfort, you're back." Said Bugwart, chomping on her piece of gum, "Boyfriend troubles sending you to therapy?" Ruby laughed.
"You wish Bugwart. If anyone needs therapy here it's you." Bugwart frowned,
"You aren't denying boyfriend troubles are you?" She questioned maliciously.
"Don't be such a ding bat." Said Ruby coldly. "I don't have boyfriend troubles."
"Quite." Said Clancy, butting in. "I don't think Ruby's ever going to have boyfriend troubles." And with that, he quickly kissed her on the cheek. The reaction was tremendous. Bugwart and her cronies were stunned to silence, Red snorted chocolate milk up her nose, Elliot laughed hysterically, Mouse raised her eyebrows and Del, being Del, clapped loudly.
When Ruby Redfort looked back at the incident when she was much older, she always remembered how that was the first (and last) time Ruby Redfort ever blushed.

THE END

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Wow. I have FINALLY finished this book. There will of course be a few more unofficial chapters and I take requests, but in this story, Ruby and Clancy's adventure has finished. I'll be editing and proofreading the chapters, but that will take a while. BAYD is finally out, BUT NO ONE TELL ME WHAT HAPPENS BECAUSE I HAVENT READ IT YET SHUSH.

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